Huge Interest for Water Reuse in China, Survey Shows

In an online survey conducted by GE, Chinese residents showed the most support for water reuse when compared to counterparts in the United States and Singapore.

Jun 06, 2013

GE has announced the results from a consumer water reuse survey. Based on 3,000 online interviews, the water reuse survey was conducted by GE in partnership with StrategyOne and examined consumer attitudes in three countries: China, Singapore, and the United States. The survey provides a comprehensive view of how residents of each country view water reuse and their willingness to support the protection and recycling of water.

The findings indicate that Chinese residents are the most supportive of water reuse and demonstrate the highest knowledge about water infrastructure issues, compared to their counterparts in the United States and Singapore.

“Population growth, rapid industrialization and accelerated urbanization are driving the need for water reuse,” said Heiner Markhoff, president and CEO—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “The survey, which we developed to get a better understanding of the awareness water reuse issues, revealed much stronger support for water recycling than we expected. The survey results show that the vast majority of Chinese understand the value of water reuse.”

The GE water reuse survey indicates that approximately nine out of 10 Chinese residents are concerned with the water quality and the availability of clean water for future generations. Although large industries, agriculture, corporations, utilities and power companies were seen as most responsible for contributing an “extreme amount” or “quite a bit” to the region’s water scarcity, Chinese people feel that it is important for all entities to take initiatives and responsibility to protect water resources.

Approximately 90 percent of Chinese survey participants show a favorable attitude toward entities that choose to protect water resources or use recycled water. The majority of Chinese people agree that protection of water resources (95 percent) and water scarcity (87 percent) are national issues and only 61 percent and 45 percent view these as local issues.